Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) CEO Sells $3,025,493.59 in Stock

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) CEO William Cyr sold 40,957 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.87, for a total value of $3,025,493.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 309,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,892,682.35. The trade was a 11.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT stock traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.40. The stock had a trading volume of 987,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,496,928. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.45 and a 52-week high of $86.00. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.77. The company has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84 and a beta of 1.61.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $305.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.35 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 17.28% and a return on equity of 5.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FRPT shares. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $72.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Freshpet in a report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Freshpet from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Freshpet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.31.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Freshpet by 606.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Freshpet during the second quarter worth $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Freshpet by 55.0% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000.

About Freshpet

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.